


A Shocking Morning

by RoyHankins



Category: Spider-Man (Video Game 2018), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Coffee Shops, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24212869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyHankins/pseuds/RoyHankins
Summary: While grabbing an early morning cup of coffee, Peter runs into someone he never expected to talk to in civvies.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 48





	A Shocking Morning

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by playing the Spider-Man PS4 game, so it's kinda in that universe. But it's more inspired by the lack of Shocker-focused fics on this website. For shame.

“♪Livin' on the edge, fighting crime, spinning webs, swinging from the highest ledge, he can leap above our heads♪” Peter hummed to himself as he entered his fifth favorite coffee house in the city, “Mornin’ Bean” in Hell’s Kitchen. It was six in the morning, so there was only one person in line ahead of him, another thing to add to his good mood. Said positive attitude was the reason he was feeling cheerful enough to sing to himself, even if it was under his breath. He’d just helped the police take down Chameleon, this time before he could pretend to be Spider-Man, and it turned out he’d landed that new lab job he’d been wanting. “♪Villians on the rise, and the city's victimized♪” The song was something cool too. After all, it wasn’t every day that a major music artist released a song all about him. Sure, there was that old Spidey-jingle from his first year on the streets, but this one had more pop to it.

He was still humming it to himself as the guy in front of him asked for a, “Coffee. Black.” Apparently, Peter was louder than he thought, because when the guy turned around to wait for his order to be done, he glared at Peter and growled, “Could you please  _ shut up _ . It’s six in the morning.”

From the second Peter could see the guy’s face, he knew there was something familiar about him, but he couldn’t place what it was. After giving his own, much more sugary drink order to the barista who looked as tired as Peter felt, he decided to socialize a little. Scooting closer to the guy, who looked to be in his late thirties, Peter said, “Hey, sorry man. Just stuck in my head, y’know?” The other customer had short black hair, and bags under his eyes so dark that Peter worried they might be small singularities.

The other guy looked Peter over with confusion, like he was seeing him for the first time, before he shook his head and grunted. “No need to apologize. This early, it’s hard not to be an asshole.” After pointedly looking Peter up and down from head to toe, the man asked, “What are you, a college student?”

Considering Peter was at a coffee shop while wearing...what was he wearing again? He looked at himself to double check: a Monty Python T-Shirt and sweatpants. Then the odor from the clothes hit his nose. Make that a Monty Python T-Shirt and sweatpants desperately in need of a wash. Maybe it was time to hit Aunt May’s house to use the washer for a bit. But yeah, considering...all of that...he could definitely see where this guy came up with the conclusion. “No, but close. I got my degree a few months ago, already found a job in my field too.” Peter wasn’t necessarily trying to brag, but he also didn’t mind telling anyone he could about the achievement.

A brief look of envy passed over the other customer’s face, and he spat out, “Oh, well there’s a  _ shock _ .” That word was what did it. The face was average enough to struggle to really get a foothold in Peter’s mind, but his voice...this had to be him. Herman Schultz. The Shocker. Not six months ago, Peter had foiled one of his bank heists, though like quite a few encounters with the quilt-wearing baddie, he hadn’t been able to catch him.

Suddenly, their drink orders were done and sitting on the counter, and Herman moved to grab him. Before he could, Peter zipped over and grabbed both of their drinks. “Actually, do you have a minute? I want to pick your brain about something.” For a moment it looked like Herman would protest, but instead he shrugged, letting Peter lead the way to a corner table where they could sit and drink their caffeine doses for the morning. “So, uh, you’re Herman Schultz, right?” Looking more wary, the guy nodded. “Well, I’m a bit of a tech guy, and I’ve been dying to talk to you about your tech.”

That was not what the man was expecting, clearly. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Herman started explaining the basic idea behind his Vibro-Shock gauntlets. Peter actually had guessed some of the specifics, but tossed in questions where he could so he could really start to understand the idea. It wasn’t long before Peter had to admit: Herman Schultz was a genius. Which was odd, because he’d seen the guy’s file before, and knew he’d barely passed high school. Then again, the same was true of Peter, but he doubted Herman Schultz’s low grades were due to constantly missing classes and homework to wear a spider costume and help people. When it felt like they’d exhausted the topic, Peter couldn’t help himself from asking, “I’ve got to know: why be the Shocker? Why rob banks?” It felt like he was crossing a line by asking this, but curiosity demanded it of him.

The query made Herman roll back in his seat, and Peter could watch as he mulled over his answer, different emotions passing over his face with each one. Finally, he seemed to settle on something. “First, it’s not like I have a lot of other options. I got mixed up with some bad people, when I was a teenager, and had a rap sheet before I even became an adult. No amount of smarts can wipe that away. College? No way. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a job, when every application makes you tell them if you’re a convicted felon?” Herman looked like he was slumping over in his chair a little, while still holding his body rigid with tension. “I’ve thought about trying to sell the tech behind my gauntlets. Hell, that was the first thing I wanted to do, before using them to steal cash. But with my past, I’d either lose credit and the patent to someone else, or have to sell the idea for pennies on the dollar.”

The answer was not one that Peter expected. Despite all the time he spent fighting crime on the streets of New York City, he didn’t look too hard at the criminal justice system he was sending those people into, or the effects an arrest would have on their lives later on. “What’s the other reason?” The question came out softly, and flew across the table to the one it was meant for.

Herman smiled at Peter, but it wasn’t a warm, happy smile. It was the kind of expression full of both self-mockery and derision at the person it was aimed at. “Same reason you swing around the city in red underoo’s, kid: I enjoy it.” Peter froze, only stopping himself from flying into action because his Spider-Sense wasn’t picking up any danger. “Yeah, yeah, I knew it was you. You talk a lot, it wasn’t hard to place the voice. Let’s just keep talking.” Then he paused, and added, “But don’t go telling me your name. I don’t plan on attacking you in your civ’s or anything, but one of these days some nutter who can read minds is bound to show up, and I don’t want him getting your name outta my head.

“But like I was saying, I like it. I didn’t at first. I started because I felt I had no other choice, and nothing to lose. But I love being the Shocker. I’m sure you know what I mean. Being able to just...run wild? Be more than human? There’s nothing like it.” Peter was gritting his teeth listening to this so hard that Herman must have been able to hear it, and flinched. “C’mon, Spidey, don’t get your webs tangled up. Don’t forget: you know me. I’m not crazy. I enjoy robbing banks, but I’m not a monster. I try not to hurt anyone, let alone kill people. Unlike a lot of the other guys you punch around, I don’t hate you, either. I get why you do what you do, and I know why you want to stop me. Doesn’t mean I’ll go down easy, but it does mean I’m not taking it personally.” Then, Herman shuddered, looking more than a little scared. “Plus, killing people attracts...the worst kind of attention.”

Peter didn’t have to ask what he meant. There’s been some nutjob in a skull shirt in the news lately, killing career criminals. It wasn’t a bad idea for Shocker to try and stay below the radar of the so-called ‘Punisher’. More than that, Peter also had to admit Shocker had a point. If he’d run into, say, Gargan or Aleksei out in public, there was no way Peter would try to chat with them like this. There was a line, and a lot of his rogues had crossed it. But Herman...always stayed on the right side. Plus, Peter had been dying to talk tech with him for ages, so that helped. Tentatively, Peter extended a hand, “Handshake of mutual respect?” He even said it in his usual Spider-Man voice.

He may have rolled his eyes first, but Herman still took the hand and shook it. “Sure thing, wallcrawler.” Then he got up from his table, taking the coffee with him. It looked like he was going to leave the shop when he paused and looked back at Peter. “Oh, and next time we do something like this? You’re spilling some beans about your web. It’s only fair.” It actually made Peter laugh, and he gave a thumbs up to approve the idea. At least there was one bad guy out there who was more ‘guy’ than ‘bad’


End file.
